Second Chance
by Buzzybee15
Summary: Eli's twin sister, Lizette, arrives at degrassi and meets Drew Torres. Drew is still scarred by his past with Alli Bhandari but is shocked when he finds a deep connection with Lizette. PLEASE READ!
1. Alli, Drew

**Chapter 1 Alli**

**(Drew)**

The halls were empty those days. Bleak and colorless, that's the only way to describe them. I had never, not once in my life, felt this kind of pain when a girl regrets giving me a second chance.

I remember her big brown eyes brimming with tears, tears that fell down her cheek at the thought of what I had done. Those tears were also for her stupidity and blind kindness in giving me a second chance.

"Hey quarterback, you're looking good." Some senior girl with long eyelashes and fake blonde hair brushed past me.

"Hey." I responded and immediately chided myself for my "Cute girl instincts," or at least that's what Adam called them. I searched her face for something, anything that would remind me of Alli; this was a habit that I had gotten myself into recently. They had similar noses, which was enough for me.

Alli, she's stuck in my mind. Everywhere I go, everything I do, is plagued by thoughts of her. I was scoping the hallways for her, and someone else.

After a few minutes, I saw that someone else. Clare Edwards' curls immediately stood out to me. Alli had always said that only Clare could pull off short, curly hair. I walked up to her. She glanced at me, and then tried to scurry away. I got in front of her, not hard to do because my legs were about six inches longer than hers.

"I'm late to class." She said, not meeting my eyes.

"Please, Clare…have you spoken to her?" I asked. I tried to hide the burning ache inside my chest. Even just the pronoun _her_ referring to Alli hurt.

"Every day, Drew." She said, leaning against the lockers. I saw her eyes dart around, trying to find an escape route.

"Anything?" I said, still burning.

"Nothing. Not other than, 'I feel a lot better now. No stupid boys making my life complicated.'" I almost cried, right then and there. Alli didn't miss me, she was happy to be rid of me. Then again, who could blame her? Clare sighed and the coldness in her eyes thawed a bit.

"Look, Alli" I cringed at her name. "Isn't coming back. You hurt her and there's nothing anyone can do about it. You need to move on, she has." Said Clare. She was firmly on Alli's side, and I guess I was too. "It's over Drew." Clare's a good kid; Alli always said she was the kindest girl in the world. We stood there in awkward silence for a few moments until Eli; her boyfriend came up to us.

"Hey, sorry, I had to walk my sister to class." They kissed, and I turned away. Kissing is the worst thing you can watch when you've just gotten your heart broken.

"Hey, Drew, are you okay?" Asked Eli, I still had my back to him. I turned and put on a fake smile.

"Yeah, man, it's all good." He raised his eyebrows.

"You will be okay, Drew. You don't need me to tell you that." I smiled again and turned away. I continued on to Science. Nothing good can come from me in a science class without any Alli in it. It took all my strength to put one foot in front of the other. Walking down those hallways was like walking through mud.

The science class was large and already full. Mr. Betenkamp had already written stuff on the board. Being my usual self, I stood there, looking bored. I leaned against the doorway and some girl smiled at me. She had straightened chestnut hair and almost the same eye shape as Alli.

"Mr. Torres? So happy you decided to join us. Take a seat next to…er…the new girl."

"Lizette." Said a girl with short, raven colored hair. She had taken Alli's seat, I almost felt hostile toward her. No one could ever replace Alli.

Then I saw her. I searched her face for Alli, and nothing. _Every_ girl in the school had some Alli in her. Believe me, I checked. In this girl, there was nothing. She was taller than Alli. Alli' skin was a rich caramel and the new girl's was pale. Not sickly pale, but in a nice way, like vanilla ice cream.

I guess I stared too long because the pale white cheeks quickly turned a rosy pink. I made my way to…Lizette, who had her eyes on her notebook. Even the eyes were different. Lizette's eyes were a striking green, like emeralds while Alli's were a warm brown.

"Would everyone hand in last night's assignment, please?" Said Mr. Betenkamp, and so class begun.


	2. Lab Partner, Lizette

My hand flew into the air; of course I wouldn't have the homework. I felt a pang of sadness. My all-girls school had closed to do swine flu, I was one of the few left and my brother brought me to this…school. Degrassi was not at all to my liking. It was so…uncivilized. Girls flung themselves at guys and guys did nothing to stop it.

"Lizette?" The teacher called on me.

"Uh…I don't have the homework." I said awkwardly. He knew that I was new and told me to ask my lab partner to bring me up to speed, a tall boy who came in late and smelled of girl drama. I turned to my new lab partner, but he wasn't looking at me. In fact, he seemed to be pointedly ignoring me.

"So, lab partner, do you want to tell me what the homework was?" I asked. I received no response and no acknowledgement. "The 'silent treatment,' charming." I continued, tilting my head to the side. I wanted to raise my hand and ask to switch partners. I was born with low patience and we obviously weren't getting anywhere. I could see this guy had obviously just struck out with some medium maintenance cheerleader. I was not going to let him bring down my science grade. I decided to try a new tactic; he seemed like someone who wouldn't mind a girl teasing him.

"What did I replace a girl who was way hot or something?" I said, smiling. Apparently this was the wrong thing to do because he came really close to me with a death glare. I felt my grin melt off my face.

"Yeah, you did actually." He said. "I don't know the homework because I didn't do it." He turned back to his book and started copying down the notes on the board, obviously taking in none of it. I followed his lead and from what I gathered we were doing a lab tomorrow, I'd done it before so I zoned out a little bit.

I watched other girls in the class throwing each other glances, not hiding the fact that they were silently talking about me. I couldn't help but feel that something had happened before I'd arrived at Degrassi, something to do with the girl I'd replaced.

I painted the picture in my mind, a hot blonde. Probably a cheerleader, that seems like his type. Probably transferred out of the class because she and my lab partner got too touchy feely, which would explain why the girls in my class would be interested in his _female_ lab partner. Maybe Lab Partner thought there was something more than there was and she had to transfer to send him a message.

The bell interrupted my story and my lab partner was the first one out. My locker was just down the hall, right by the front entrance. My twin brother's locker was four down from mine. After exchanging my science books for English books, I walked up to him and pinched his arm.

"What, sis, you need help finding your way to our English class?" Said Eli, flashing me his crooked smile.

"No, actually, I was wondering where Clare was. You two are usually attached at the mouth." Our playful banter continued on our way to Ms. Daus' class where Adam and Clare were waiting for us. I'd met them and hung out with them all before. Despite the whole different schools thing, they were my friends.

"Hey, You." Said Clare, leaning over to kiss Eli. Adam and I exchanged a look. I could tell that he didn't mind it as much now that there was a fourth wheel.

"You two better stop. I don't mean to be a Simpson intern but the new rules on PDA will land you both in detention." Said Adam. They pulled apart and grinned.

"Detention won't do anything to help plans later." I put in. "Seven, at the dot?"

"I'm in." Said Clare and Eli at the same time. They smiled again.

"Clare, I love you but if you and Eli keep doing that I will tear you limb from limb." I threatened playfully. Eli put his arm around her and whispered something in her ear. She giggled and I groaned.

"Sorry, Liz." Said Eli. They toned it down, but Eli's arm remained around her shoulder.

"So, how was class number one?" Asked Adam.

"So dull, not only had I covered everything but my lab partner treated me like a social pariah."

"Who was it?" Eli laughed.

"I don't know. Some tall kid, apparently he'd had some sort of girl drama because all the girls were looking at me." I said, hoping that would narrow it down. Apparently I was wrong.

"That could be one of a hundred boys in the school." Said Clare, smiling.

"His last name was Torres or something…"

"Torres?" Adam jumped.

"Wait, that Torres? As in your _step-brother_?" I said incredulously.

"Brown hair? Brown eyes?" He asked.

"Yup." I said slowly.

"That would explain the drama vibe." Put in Eli. I was confused because we had never talked drama much, just music, books, nothing outside our inner circle. Clare mouthed a name; she mouthed _Alli_.


	3. I'm Sorry, Drew

Two names spun around and around in my head, Lizette and Alli. They struck each other again and again. Alli had dominated my thoughts for weeks and had tried to hurt me…multiple times…but only after I had hurt her…multiple times. Lizette, it had only taken her five minutes to pour lemon juice into my paper cuts…unintentionally.

It bothered me that I couldn't find one similarity between the two. Hair color, different; skin color, caramel vs. vanilla; height, tiny and average. They even smiled differently. Alli's smile was a sweet cockiness, but Lizette's was…happy and unsure. I didn't want to compare them. Why was I even thinking about it as sat in the math class I was failing? The only thing they had in common was the science seat they had sat in.

"Mr. Torres? Mr. Torres?" A voice called, I didn't answer.

"DREW!" A kid shouted at me. It was that nobody, Dave. "Hey, come on man. Are you okay?" He asked. I decided to feign snapping back to reality.

"What? Who? Oh, sorry." I said.

"Now that you're back to reality. Can you answer the question?" Asked the teacher. He raised his eyebrows, he knew that there was no way he could expect an answer from me.

"Uh, seven x over pi?" I put in an example that Alli had drilled into my head while helping me study. My teacher sighed and turned back to the board.

"The answer was false, Mr. Torres." There were some chuckles, but I didn't care. Alli, she was so beautiful and good. I had ruined her, just by existing. Maybe…if I didn't exist…no, no, NO. I was not one of those emo freaks, but I felt like one. I doodled a poor representation of Alli's face on my notebook, then on my textbook. The class ended and I decided to skip lunch. I just sat in the deserted hallway, my eyes blurred and I openly wept. Who cared anymore?

In my tears I didn't realize that someone was standing over me.

"Hi?" They said, unsure, not without reason of course. I didn't respond, I decided I never would respond. They didn't leave; in fact they sat down next to me. I realized that it was Lizette, from science. The one person who I didn't want to see was there, sitting next to me.

"Are you okay?" She asked, she wasn't joking or teasing. She sounded concerned. I shook my head; I didn't care if she saw me cry. "Drew, I am…so sorry for the way I acted in Science. I didn't know…about…well I do now and…I am so sorry." She said hesitantly. She put her hand on my arm, it was cold, and it felt nice. NO! It didn't feel nice, it couldn't feel nice, and it wasn't supposed to feel nice.

"I destroyed her," I said. "I went to the…boiler room…with Bianca…and…I…" I gave up on full sentences and continued to cry. Lizette didn't mind that I was staining her sweater, she didn't speak, and she was just there. It was good, that she was there, just helping. People came and then they left, a sea of bodies not bothering to look down at Drew Torres and the new girl. Then they were gone and it was empty again. Lizette made no move to leave.

"You're going to be late to class." I said, calming down.

"It's okay." She said. Her eyes were kind and understanding. I wanted to reproach myself for wanting her to stay. I guess it would be the same with anyone else, or maybe that's just my cover.

"I'm sorry…about class…I snapped at you, and now…you saw…that." I said, I owed it to her.

"It's okay, it doesn't matter." She said. I looked at her; I wanted to say so much that it hurt. I didn't want this girl to hate me; no I don't think I could stand the green in her eyes to be cold with dislike. I stood up, too fast apparently because I was dizzy at first. I looked down at her; she looked so small and powerless. But she had the power to stay with a jerk like me and comfort me in one of my worst moments. I offered her my hand and helped her up.

"I hope you feel better." She sighed and touched my arm. Then she was gone too, walking down the hall and around the corner.


	4. Dirty Little Liar, Lizette

"Late on the first day, Ms. Goldsworthy?" Said the history teacher. "Bad form."

"I am so sorry, sir, but…I had…a…um feminine issue." I could faintly hear the sound of my mother laughing in the back of my head.

My mother had always been there for me right until the end. She died when Eli and I were very young. She had a heart attack and left my father with twin toddlers who were wondering why mommy wasn't home. My dad was a shock-jock and was out of the house a lot. Eli and I did okay, we always looked out for each other and had a routine down from the time we were ten when dad started taking morning and afternoon broadcasts.

Some of the guys snickered at my excuse. "Oh, well then. I suppose that's a valid reason. Um…page 192." He said, turning pink. I took a seat next to my brother. He scribbled something on a sticky note then stuck it on my leg. I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed the note.

_You dirty little liar _

I shook my head at him, exasperated. He knew me way to well, it got annoying sometimes.

_Whatever :-P_

He shook his head and wrote again. I love my brother but he can be very persistent when he wants to be, and persistence is a great quality if you lose a race but a terrible quality in a brother.

Are you going to tell me? (Me being your favorite brother)

I sighed. Even if Eli hadn't been my only brother, he still would have been my favorite. I decided that, Eli didn't need to know about Drew. Drew had basically collapsed, which many girls would have freaked out over. I could tell that he would prefer it if I didn't put it on my facebook page much less tell my brother.

_Maybe, I don't know yet. GTG I actually enjoy history._

That was the last of our notes for that class. I didn't pay attention to the teacher's lecture on the civil war. Eli and I made faces at each other all class. I began to think Degrassi was actually a good substitute to Rivers Hall, my old school. When the bell rang, Eli cornered me.

"So, why was my sweet, innocent little sister late to class?" He asked.

"I was apologizing to Drew." It was only a white lie, it's not like I wouldn't tell him ten years from now. His eyes, which were almost an exact copy of mine, were filled with curiosity. I knew that ten years from now would probably be ten days from now. I could never lie to my brother because; despite the annoying things we do to each other…I loved him.

"How did that go?" He replied, putting his arm around me as we walked to our lockers.

"It went okay, I mean, I don't think he completely hates me anymore."

"Okay, so we have some progress." He said, smiling at me. "So it was a forty-five minute apology?" He was good with details, luckily, so was I.

"It took all lunch period to track him down. First, I got lost; then he wouldn't talk to me; but at the end he forgave my apology." I forgave his too, but I'd never tell Eli that. I kept lying. Like I said, there were some things Eli didn't need to know.

"My baby sister is growing up," He said, pretending to wipe tears away from his eyes. "It breaks my heart."

"You are not older than me." We had this argument every day but it never got old.

"Those sweet twelve minutes in the world where I was an only child say I am." He said grinning. "Plus, I'm taller."

"By an inch." I scowled. He laughed.

"You know I love you, right sis?" He asked, kissing the top of my head.

"Love you, too." I said, leaning against my locker.

"So, may I have the honor of walking my sister to…Spanish?" He offered, looking at my schedule. Clare appeared at the end of the hallway. I could tell that she didn't want to ask him to walk _her_ to class if he had already offered me. He looked up, then back at me pleadingly.

"Go." I sighed.

"Thanks, Liz." He said going over to meet Clare. They were in the _infatuation_ stage of the relationship. From what I knew about relationships, which was very little, they wouldn't want to spend a moment apart for the next two months.

I walked to my next class, alone, and found an empty seat next to Adam.

"Hola." I said, dropping my books on the floor and sitting on the table.

"What's up?" He asked. Looking around nervously.

"Not much…are you okay?" I asked, concerned because he was looking everywhere but at me. I didn't need this from _both_ Torres boys. Just as I said this, Drew appeared in the doorway. Adam didn't know that I had apologized to Drew and prepared for the awkwardness to begin. Contrary to Adam's ideas of what that class was going to be like, Drew took the seat behind me.  
"Hey." He said, smiling.


	5. Rejected, Drew

So many thoughts were swirling around in my head; each one of them more confusing than the next. Alli was gone and there was nothing I could do about it; and here was Lizette, trying to help me. I walked through the halls, my eyes were almost dried now and I could see everything clearly.

Alli was gone, that much was obvious. She wasn't coming back and was way better off without me. Lizette was here; there was nothing I could do about that. I wanted to talk her, without breaking into tears. Maybe I could handle being friends with a girl. No flirting, no dating, and…no kissing. This may be harder than I'd thought. Lizette would be my first girlfriend. By that I mean my first girl who's a friend.

My next class was Spanish, with Adam. My FTM stepbrother was my best friend. He'd been with me before, during, and after Alli. He'd seen me at my worst, my best, and then my worst again. He'd understand my new situation…I hoped. I was early for Spanish, probably because I hadn't been in the mood to cry; or maybe I'd already cried out all of my tears and had nothing left.

I stood in the doorway to see Adam talking with none other than Lizette herself. I decided to begin phase one of my "Be friends with Lizette" plan. I was still working on a title. I swallowed my fears like a man and casually slid into the seat behind her.

"Hey." I said, a smile spreading across my face.

"Hi." She replied. She wore the smile I'd first met her with, the unsure but happy smile. It sent a pang through my stomach to think that I'd never see that smile on Alli's face.

"Sup, Drew?" Asked Adam. He looked confused and maybe a bit nervous. Obviously, Lizette had told him about our first encounter.

"Not much, just got out of English." I said. I really hated English; it bored me to death. I didn't understand English any more than I did science or math.

"Have you guys started _The Book Thief_ yet?" Asked Lizette, her eyes sparkled. She'd have to stop doing that.

"Um no we're starting it tonight." I said, surprised by her interest.

"I read it in seventh grade, it's so good." She said. I could tell that she was someone who understood English, another smart girl…great.

"Seventh grade? Did you go to a private school or something?" I asked, smiling. Her eyes tightened, just a little bit.

"Yeah, I went to Rivers Hall." She said, her voice suddenly a bit more somber. I didn't catch on to her mood right away.

"Oh yeah, that school that closed down." Her eyes almost watered. I'd said the wrong thing, big surprise.

"That's the one." She said turning away from me. She opened her Spanish book just as the teacher walked in. I looked over at Adam, looking confused.

"She was one of twenty people who weren't infected by H1N1." Whispered Adam, exasperated with my stupidity. It started to dawn on me how having everyone you've known for years suddenly sick and the school that has sheltered you come crumbling down. I felt like such an idiot. How could I make it up to her?

The class continued in a daze. Spanish words flew here and there; some with perfect accents, others sounding like they had been spoken with sticks in their mouths. I didn't talk. How is it that a girl that I had known only for a few hours could make me want to punch myself for hitting one of her nerves? My thoughts flew in and out while I stared at the deep black in Lizette's hair. Most girls were brunettes and had tints of brown brought out by the fluorescents. But not this one, the light almost brought out blue; that's how black it was. It was nice, abnormal, and special.

Out of nowhere the bell rang. Lizette and Adam were the first ones out. It took me a second to snap back to reality and realize that Lizette was leaving.

"Lizette, wait up!" I heard myself call. She turned, looking wary.

"I am so sorry, I didn't really think about what I was saying and…" She cut me off with a smile.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it." She said, reassuring me. She turned to leave when I continued.

"There must be something I can do to make it up to you." I said, flashing her a Drew smile. She didn't seem to fall for it.

"We're even now. It's all good." She said. Adam was waiting, kind of awkwardly, at the corner of the glass room. They walked around the corner. I leaned against the wall and sighed.

"I think…I just got rejected." I said to myself.


	6. Eli, Lizette

Eli and I had math next period. Only two more classes and then I'd be free to go home and relax.

I thought about what Drew had said. It shouldn't have bothered me as much as it had. For some reason, whenever the stuff that had happened to Rivers Hall was brought up, I'd feel a pang in my stomach. I remembered my friends' faces, which were all soon pale with the disease flowing through their veins.

Out of nowhere, someone put their hands in front of my face.

"You're a moron." I said, turning to see Eli smiling back at me. I grabbed my books and we were off to math.

"Would a moron get a ninety four on his science mid-term?" He asked, waving the exam in my face. I could tell how smug he was. Science had never been his favorite subject. He had loathed it ever since his teacher had docked him a grade for fainting during a frog dissection in the eighth grade.

"Congratulations." I said, giving him a celebratory hug.

"Thank you," He said, giving me a little bow. "And how was your Spanish class?"

"Fine." I said. I hadn't really been paying attention because my thoughts had still been at Rivers, with…never mind. I couldn't think about it, I never wanted to be in that bad a shape again; at least…not publicly.

"Only fine? Not magnificent or fantastic?" He asked, still smiling. He must have just been with Clare because he was in a very good mood.

"It was Spanish class, Eli. Do you want me to start giving you a minute by minute playback?"

"If you insist." He said, putting his arm around me.

"Well, Adam and I hung out before class, Drew showed up, the teacher came in and said some stuff in Spanish for what felt like ten hours, and then the bell rang and we got to leave. How's that?" I said. He raised his eyebrows at me.

"Drew is in your Spanish class?" He asked, surprised.

"Uh huh." I said, trying to brush it off.

"Did he say something fascinating?" He was particularly curious and it annoyed me.

"Eli, I'm not in the mood for twenty questions right now." I said, groaning.

"Okay, I won't push. But when you're ready to talk, let me know." He said. We continued on in silence. Not because I was annoyed but because I had nothing to say. Sometimes it felt like my mind is separated into three columns. One column is full of stuff I wanted to talk about, one had stuff I didn't want to talk about, and the other had stuff I wanted to talk about but shouldn't.

We took our seats in the back of the class where the teacher, an aging woman, wouldn't notice us whispering.

"So, what's up with you?" I asked. "Other than the amazing science achievement."

"Well, my partner, K.C., had a ten minute glaring contest with his ex girlfriend, Jenna." He said, smirking.

"Who won?" I asked.

"Jenna, of course, she had motivation. K.C. is so obtuse when it comes to girls."

"Didn't he used to date Clare?" I asked, confused.

"Exactly, he had the bad taste to dump _Clare_ for _Jenna_." Said Eli, stating the obvious.

"Right, because anyone who doesn't worship _Clare_ is obviously mislead." I said, shaking my head.

"See, you're catching on." He said. I rolled my eyes. He gave me a love tap on the back of my head. I held up my fists.

"Bring it on." I said smiling. He shook his head at the challenge.

"You're just afraid I'll win." I teased, flipping my side bangs out of my eyes. He made no acknowledgement of my taunts. I opened my textbook and felt another tap on the back of my head. Eli was looking at his notes…only grinning.

"I hate you." I said, shaking my head. He patted me on the shoulder, still absorbed in polynomial equations.

"I know, Liz." The class began. Math came easily to me, plus I'd learned it all before. I actually found it relaxing because there was always a formula and always an answer. The class ended all too quickly and my serenity of the day ended.

I sighed, refreshed. "What class do you have now?" I asked.

"French with…" He didn't want to say it. He knew I'd get annoyed if he said he had French with Clare. I rolled my eyes. Clare was nice, but I'd get annoyed with anyone who tried to steal my brother.

"Speak of the devil." I said. Clare entered the classroom placing a neat sheet of equations on the teacher's desk. "Or should I say, Saint."

"Oh, hey guys. What's up?" She said, turning so that her back was no longer to us.

"Not much," I replied. "I'll leave you two alone." Clare tilted her head to the side as Eli kissed her forehead. I kind of knew the layout at Degrassi, so I could make it back to my locker alone. I was already tired, having not slept the night before due to a call that Rivers _might_ reopen in two to three weeks. But I couldn't dwell on the future…or the past. I was here, at Degrassi and I had to make the most of it. I turned around and Eli was there.

"Hey." He said, arms behind his back.

"What happened to Clare Bear?" I asked, looking around.

"She gave me a rain check on walking her to class." He said. "So I'm free to walk my favorite sister to whatever class she has now."

"Theater."

"Even if it's as far away from French as possible." He said, still smiling.

"How generous of you." I said, bumping into him.

"I know. I'm a saint." He said. Staring at the ceiling with his hand over is heart.

"You can't be a saint if you don't believe in God."

"Figure of speech." We continued on our way in this playful banter. My brother has been there for me in since we were born…literally. He encouraged me to learn how to ride a bike, try out for the school play, and always made me breakfast. In many ways, he was the big brother. I was the sister who made him laugh and wasn't afraid to be silly. No matter what happened, Eli and I could always depend on each other.

After a long walk, we arrived at the auditorium where some students were already lounging in chairs set up in a circle. In one of these chairs, sitting slightly apart from the rest of the group, was Drew. Eli turned toward me, his jaw muscle slightly tensed. He thought Drew and I were still on bad terms.

"Want me to stay?"

I smiled at him and he relaxed a bit. The warning bell rang again; he had five minutes to get to French. "I got it." I turned away and took the seat next to Drew.


	7. Much Ado, Drew

Without a reason, I felt nervous as she walked towards me. She casually dropped into the seat next to me. She crossed her arms, waiting for our teacher to arrive. There were a few reason's I had chosen theater for an elective. One of them being that I could barely draw a happy face, and another one was that I was musically challenged. This was my last choice.

"So…" Lizette said, still not looking at me.

"So…" I repeated. She smirked a little, I had seen that smirk before…but I couldn't tell where. "How's your first day been?" I asked, trying to sound bored; but really, I wanted to know what she'd been up to.

"Interesting." She nodded, and then laughed.

"What's funny?" I asked, smiling.

"It's just…you've been…weird." She said, smiling.

"I know, and I'm sorry." I said, trying to sound as honest as possible.

"I believe you." She said, flashing me one of her dazzling smiles.

"Is there anyway we could start over?" I didn't want to sound as desperate as I was, but I genuinely wanted to get to know her.

"Maybe…" She said. I looked at her curiously.

"Hey, I'm Drew Torres." I said holding out my hand. After a second, she took it.

"Lizette Goldsworthy." I was taken aback. I now knew where I had seen her smirk. I had seen it on _Eli's_ face.

"As in, Eli Goldsworthy, as in Eli's sister?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're twins." She shrugged. I'd never known Eli very well. But I was sure he wouldn't be the biggest fan of me. From what I'd seen, Eli would do anything Clare asked of him and she was loyal to Alli. This could have complicated things, but I decided to think nothing of it.

"Cool." I responded. "So…we're good."

"Yup." It was awkward for a few minutes. I had nothing to say and no pick up lines to use. It felt weird, not having my usual Drew script to use. Plus she wasn't giving me the usual signs that she wanted to go out, that kind of hurt a little bit.

"So what brings you to theater?" I asked, trying to make small talk. It was the only thing I could do, seeing as my usual phrases reserved for girls weren't getting me anywhere.

"I don't know actually. I guess it's easier to be someone else than to be me." She said, her brow furrowing.

"Well you seem fine the way you are." I said awkwardly. She laughed, which eased the tension that had settled in.

"Maybe. But then again, you are guy." She said, not looking at me.

"Oh yeah? And what's that supposed to mean?" I said, a playful grin leaking onto my face.

"Every guy I've ever met will tell a girl that they are perfect the way they are just so they can make out with them later." She said, looking me up and down. "With one exception."

"Which would be?"

"My brother." She said, chuckling.

"All of them?" I asked. Even though I knew the information was probably true, I still wanted to believe that some guys had a sense of decency.

"Well…there was Matthew Brown in the summer going into ninth grade." She said, still smiling.

"And what was his problem?" I asked.

"I will never tell." She whispered.

"Hello my thespians. Today we will start a new project." Said the teacher, walking in dramatically.

"Yay!" I whispered sarcastically. Lizette giggled.

"You will split into boy and girl pairs." Said the teacher. Lizette and I glanced at each other. I raised my eyebrows and she nodded.

"I have in this hat," She said, holding out a brown hat with little pieces of paper in it. "Names and scenes of romantic Shakespeare plays, two characters, and the scenes." You could immediately tell what was on every girl in the room's minds: Romeo and Juliet. "Will every young man please come up and choose their play?" She said, spinning around in the middle of the circle.

I stood up and took a deep breath. Did I want Romeo and Juliet? Well…I didn't know. If I had to do a kissing scene with her…it would ruin this newfound familiarity between us. It would make things much more awkward, but…it wouldn't exactly be unpleasant.

I walked up slowly, and then stuck my hand into the little brown hat. I pulled out a little paper. Its words both relieved and disappointed me.

_Much Ado About Nothing_

_Benedick and Beatrice_

_Act: 5_

_Scene: 4_

I looked at the black inked words on the crisp white paper: _Much Ado About Nothing._ I had never heard of the play.

"What'd we get?" Asked Lizette, curiously looking over my shoulder.

"Much Ado About Nothing." I said.

"Oh my God, I love that play!" She said excitedly.

"Never heard of it." I said. She laughed, showing all of her perfectly white teeth. We collected our scripts at the front of the classroom.

"Do we have any questions?" Asked the teacher.

"There are more than two people in our script." Said a tall boy whose name I did not know.

"I will read those extra parts during your final presentation." Said the teacher.

"What do we do about the…intimate scenes?" Asked Bianca, looking directly at me with a taunting smile. Once upon a time, I would have found it alluring. Now I knew it to be a façade and her true intentions were to ruin people's lives.

"You may hug if you are uncomfortable. None of you go much farther than kissing, I'm afraid." Many of the girls giggled.

Lizette and I spent the rest of the class practicing. She was an expert in all things Shakespeare so she spent the entire time helping me understand what the hell it was they were talking about. She was so incredibly smart and I was fascinated by how into what she was talking about she was. I hated the bell because it ended the time I had with Lizette.

I wasn't supposed to miss her but I did. I spent the rest of the night beating myself up about how confused I was. I was supposed to be a monk now. No Alli, no anyone. Here Lizette was, making me rethink my new lease on life. I hated it, but I also wanted to see how far it would go.


	8. Goodbye, Lizette

The first week of Degrassi was so fun. My friendship with Eli, Claire, and Adam strengthened and my amity with Drew began. Drew and I had begun to hang out outside of school. It was strictly based on homework, but we still had fun. I often needed to help him understand the coursework, but it was fine because it gave me a chance to review. Everything was perfectly serene…until I saw Camille.

Camille and I had both gone to Rivers Hall together. We had barely spoken much since we'd come to Degrassi, but we had been good friends when Rivers Hall closed. It was just after Assembly and before Science class. Camille had come up to me in tears, a cell phone in her hand.

"Cam, what is it?" I asked, suddenly concerned.

"I…just got a phone call…from…Natalia's mom." She blathered. My breathing stopped. It to ok me a few seconds to register what this could mean. I finally spoke.

"Is she…gone?" I asked in a slow whisper.

"Not…yet…soon. My…mom…is…picking me up. She wants…to know…if you want to come." Her pink eyes were shining.

"Yeah…of course. Let me text Eli." I said. Every nerve in my body went numb; I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. I still couldn't process it.

_Tally almost gone :'(_

_Cam's mom taking me 2 hospital_

_Tell Simpson?_

_I love you_

_-Liz_

We walked, arm in arm to her mother's car. As soon as we were in, Mrs. Anderson was speeding to the hospital; no one spoke, only tears were shed. Natalia was my best friend at Rivers Hall. She had caught the swine flu worse than anybody else and had been hospitalized since the school had closed. I'd visited her whenever I could. I had told her about Degrassi and my friends and she'd seemed happy and strong and ready to fight this. Now…she was dying and…I'd known it was coming, but that knowledge still did nothing to lessen the blow.

The hospital was large and foreboding, we raced to the room. Our other friend, Alicia, was standing next to her bedside. Alicia had gone to Bardell after Rivers but I'd still been emailing with her. She looked up, mascara running.

"Hey." She said. Her voice broke and she wept. We hugged her and then turned to our fading friend. I knelt beside her and touched her forehead.

"Hi, Tally." I said. She turned to me slowly, barely opening her eyes.

"Hi, guys." She said. We were silent for a moment, and then a tear slid down her face. "I'm so scared." She said. That was the final straw. I buried my face in her blue hospital blanket and let the river run from my eyes.

"Please Tally…don't…you're…going to be…fine." Said Cam, also kneeling. Alicia sat down in one of the chairs and held her head in her hands.

"Sorry guys…I wish I had more time." She said quietly.

"You do have time. You have all the time in the world." Said Alicia. Natalia shook her head.

"I'm just glad…I get to say goodbye." She said. Her breathing was labored now.

"Please don't speak. It hurts you." I said between my tears.

"You guys are going to go…back to Rivers Hall. You're going to have boyfriends and…you'll forget me." She said. More tears slithered down her olive face.

"Never!" We breathed.

"Tell my mom…and dad…and Angelo…I love them. Baby Angelo…he's never going to know his sister." She said. Her eyes were beginning to close.

"I love you, guys." She said. Those were the last words of Natalia Adrianna De Luca.

"We love you, too." We said in unison.

We were all crying when her mother walked in with a glass of water. She cried out when she saw us and fainted into her husband's arms. The water fell to the floor and we all jumped. Her dad began to sob.

"Figlia mia, mia bella Natalia!" He cried in Italian. We all sat there, unmoving. Natalia looked peaceful and quiet, as if she were sleeping. The sad and impossible fact was: she'd never wake up.

I couldn't be there anymore; I didn't want to look at the lifeless corpse of my best friend. Natalia's parents should be alone with…the body. I stood up, eight eyes looked back at me.

"I should go." I mumbled. Mrs. De Luca stood up and embraced me.

"Thank you, Lizette. For being here…for her…" Her voice trailed off and she started sobbing. I patted her on the back.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." I said quietly. I walked down the long hallway and dialed the number.

"Hello?" Said the familiar voice.

"Eli, can you come pick me up?" I asked, and my voice broke.

"Liz! Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"I'm…fine. Please, Eli, just come get me." I said warily.

"Give me twenty minutes." He said. I hung up and turned back to the glass room where my best friend had died. It was a painting, a work of art. A hospital is a place where many come in, and few come out. In the space of sonnet, a life is lost.

"Lizette…" Said a voice behind me. Eli was walking towards me, tears in his eyes. He grabbed me and held me to him. "I'm so sorry." He said. I was stiff; it was all I could manage to put my arms around him. "Wait here?" He said. He walked over to the De Luca room. He paid his respects and then we left.

Morty, his hearse, fit the occasion. It was mournful and depressing…perfect. He turned in the direction of our house.

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused.

"I'm taking you home." He said.

"No, I have a theater project today and…"

"You need to rest." He said, staring at me. It was moments like that, which made him more of a big brother than ever.

"No, Elijah, I don't." I said. I crossed my arms. "I want to go to school." I said.

"Are you sure?" He stopped the car and looked at me seriously. I nodded. He shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say." We continued to Degrassi in silence. When we arrived, it was lunchtime. He didn't stop me as I walked toward my next class.

"Lizette!" He called after me. I turned, my eyes hurt. "I love you." He said. I nodded and turned away. The theater was dark and empty, the perfect place to be in shock. I couldn't bear the company of others right now. I wanted Natalia back, but that could never be.


	9. Do not you love me? Drew

I was worried as I walked down the hall. Lizette and I had become better friends lately and it was normal that I should be worried. I had seen her just before assembly but I hadn't seen her in any of my classes that day or at lunch. Our Shakespeare scene was that day and I had no chance of doing it without her. We had decided not to kiss, again, a disappointment and a relief.

The theater was empty and dark. I saw her sitting on the floor, her head on her knees. I was taken aback; I hadn't known her that long but it was still a shock to see her crying on the floor, so vulnerable and sad.

"Lizette? Are you…? What?" I didn't now what to do. She looked up at me, her face streaked by tears. She stood up and wiped the tears from her face. Her purple polo shirt, part of the new uniform, was covered in tearstains. I slowly walked down to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked, cupping her face in my hands. A new stream of tears started sliding down her face and she collapsed in my arms. I held her to me. She continued to weep.

"Tell me what happened." I offered. I thought maybe that talking about it might help.

"Tally…died…and…I…" She babbled. Nothing made sense. But I continued to let her cry. I wanted her to not be sad.

"She…had swine flu…really bad and…she's dead. I lost my best friend, Drew." She said. Her tears continued.

"You're okay. It's going to be okay." I tried to assure her. She shook her head.

"Natalia won't be." She said, pulling away slightly. She stared at me; she seemed almost like a little kid, her eyes were so innocent and pure. I couldn't respond with words so I brushed a silent tear of her cheek with my thumb as I held her face. We stared at each other for a long time, and then she looked down awkwardly. I let my arms fall gracelessly at my side.

"So…" I said.

"Yeah…look, Drew I…" She was interrupted as our drama teacher entered and turned the fluorescent lights on.

"Hello my caterpillars. Are you ready for your big debut?" She asked, turning the lights on. She obviously hadn't registered the fact that Lizette's eyes were pink and both of our shirts were stained.

"Yeah…um…we were just rehearsing." She said, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. More students arrived and Lizette started to recover.

A blonde girl with her partner, a skinny boy who was at least a head shorter than her, performed Hamlet. They did the kissing scene with a hug and some of the kids awed and other booed. Bianca and Fitz followed with Romeo and Juliet, looking at everyone but each other. They finished they're scene with a steamy kiss, which was received by wolf whistles and the clearing of throats. We were up next. Lizette took a deep breath and smiled at me. Unlike our predecessors, our scene was happy and positive. I began my role as Benedick.

_"Soft and fair Friar, which is Beatrice?"_ I asked.

_"I answer to that name, what is your will?"_ She was so into her role that I forgot that she had been weeping in my arms just a half an hour ago.

_"Do not you love me?"_ I asked. I tried to play my role just as well as she had.

_"Why, no more than reason."_ She said, looking taken aback.

_"Why then your uncle, and the prince, and Claudio have been deceived, they swore you did."_ I said, as if that settled the matter.

_"Do not you love me?"_ She asked, confused.

_"Troth no, no more than reason." _I responded proudly.

_"Why then my cousin, Margaret and Ursula are much deceived, they swore you did."_ She said, crossing her arms.

_"They swore that you were almost sick for me."_ I said, turning away from her.

_"They swore that you were wellnigh dead for me."_ She said, turning away as well.

_"'Tis no such matter, then you do not love me."_ I said, turning back slowly.

_"No truly but in friendly recompense."_ She said, still proud. The teacher read the next few lines and then read my cue.

_"A miracle, here's our hands against our own hearts: come, I will have thee, but by this light I take thee for pity."_ I said, sticking my nose in the air.

_"I would not deny you, but by this good day, I yield upon great persuasion, and partly to save your life, for I was told, you were in a consumption."_ She said, smiling.

_"Peace I will stop your mouth."_ I went in to hug her. She surprised me, she took my face in her hands, searched my eyes for a moment, and then her lips were on mine. I was surprised by the suddenness. I remember the amazement, as every nerve in my body was alive. I responded in my usual Drew way; and then it was over.

Everyone was silent and then they applauded with wolf whistles. She blushed and looked away. I smiled, still surprised. She didn't meet my eyes when we sat down, but I could tell she was smiling slightly.

The rest of the class went by in a daze, I paid no attention to the other scenes, all I could focus on was the fact that I had just kissed Lizette, and felt as though Alli's chapter was finally over. I had turned a page and suddenly, the whole story changed. The bell rang and interrupted my bliss. Lizette was the first one out. I ran after her.

"Liz! Liz!" I called. She was halfway up the staircase, a hint of a smile playing around the corner of her lips.

"What's up?" She asked.

"A better question would be, what was that?" I asked, grinning.

"A thank you, you know, for being there." She said turning. I grabbed her arm.

"It had to have been more than that." I said, giving her a Drew smile.

"What would give you that idea?" She said, innocently turning her head to the side.

"You were very…convincing." I said, giving her a nervous laugh. We stared at each other for a second. She snapped out of it, all too soon, shaking her head.

"I am not having this conversation…my best friend just _died_!" She said, rubbing her temples.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I said, putting my hand over hers. She stared at it for a second, and then decided to let it stay.

"Maybe later." She said.

"Good, when will that be?" I asked. She smiled, and then rolled her eyes.

"Maybe eight o'clock, my house? Eli is going to be…at your house, actually. He and Adam have a whole guys night planned."

"Perfect, I'll see you then." I said. I wanted to kiss her again, but I decided better of it. We weren't dating; tonight was just talking. I walked away from her feeling…good. Alli didn't have such a strong hold on my mind anymore; Lizette was starting to take her place.

**___**Shakespeare, William, and John F. Cox. "Act 5, Scene 4." **__**Much Ado about Nothing**__**. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print.****_


	10. Favorite Animal? Lizette

My black Rivers Hall sweatpants and red t-shirt were comfortable and more like me, unlike the Degrassi dress code. I laid down on my couch, eyes closed. All I saw was Natalia's face…just before she died. She was the funniest, smartest, kindest best friend anyone could ever ask for, and now she was gone. I wanted her back, I wanted her alive; but that won't ever be possible.

Why had I kissed Drew? My best friend died and I went back to school and kissed my project partner. I tried to justify my actions; the script had said that we were supposed to kiss. But, then again, we had decided to hug. I wasn't supposed to feel happy that I had kissed Drew, I wasn't supposed to miss him, and I definitely wasn't supposed to be excited when the doorbell rang.

I sighed and went to the door. He was still in his uniform.

"Hey." He said, smiling.

"Hi." I said turning away and slumped back down on the couch. He closed the door and followed.

"So…what's up?" He asked awkwardly.

"Nothing much…other than…today." I said slowly.

"Oh…yeah…well…" He seemed at a loss for words. It had been a crazy day. I took a deep breath and thought about how wrong it was that I kissed Drew mere hours after my best friend died.

"Something wrong?" He asked. My face obviously looked preoccupied.

"Natalia." I said.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" He asked.

"Are you sure you want to listen?" He took my hand again.

"Of course I do."

"Natalia and I were best friends since we met in kindergarten. We had sleepovers every week. I could call her at two in the morning and she wouldn't care at all. In second grade, Alicia and Camille started hanging out with us and we've all been really close since then.

When Natalia got sick…it was really terrible. The school closed down because…there were so many of those who were sick. Everyone was coughing or falling asleep in class. The worst part was not being sick, actually. Just watching everyone around you drop like flies…its terrible and I wouldn't wish it on anyone." By this time I was crying again. Drew put his arms around me. He didn't say anything, he just held me while I cried. We sat there for a few minutes while I calmed down.

"I'm so sorry." I said wiping my eyes.

"It's fine." He said. I laughed at myself for crying so much. "You just lost your best friend." He said. His eyes poured into mine and we sat there, looking at each other. After a few minutes, I looked down. My eyes stung from the tears that they had set free. I looked up at him again; he looked…sad…that I was sad.

"What can I do?"

"I…honestly don't know. I feel like I am so screwed up." I said.

"Why would you think that?" He asked, cupping his warm hands around my face, it felt nice…to know he was there.

"Because my best friend…died, and then…I kissed you." I said, still looking at him.

"It was my fault." He said. I was confused.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I kind of took advantage of you." He said.

"No you didn't." I said. I knew he hadn't, if anything I had taken advantage of him.

"You were sad, and confused. I shouldn't have kissed you." He said. It made me feel worse that he was regretting me kissing him.

"So…you didn't like it?" I asked awkwardly. I felt like such an idiot.

"No, no I did." He said with an awkward laugh. I smiled a little.

"There we go." He said.

"What?"

"I've been waiting for you to smile." He said.

"So…this leaves us…where exactly?" I asked.

"Where do you want it to leave us?" He asked. "Because, when talked after class, I wanted to kiss you again." I smiled. He looked down at his hands.

"If you're saying that you like me…then I guess I like you too." I said. I was trying to untangle the situation we had found ourselves in. It was fifth grade drama over and over again. My tears had completely gone now and I was feeling better. He looked up and smiled.

"Really? Okay then." He said, clearing his throat.

"Yeah." I said. It was silent for a few minutes. I could tell what he was thinking about.

"Are you ready…to move on I mean…from Alli?" I asked. It was just starting to dawn on me how much I wanted him to say he had moved on from her, how much I wanted him to say that he preferred me.

"I don't know. Before I met you…all I could think about was her. Now…all I think about is you…but…why should I be happy?" He said. I could tell he was really confused, I'd seen this before…when Eli met Clare.

"You know, my brother had a girlfriend before Clare." I began. He smiled.

"Eli without Clare? Seriously?" He asked.

"I know right? Anyway, Eli and Juliet, that was her name, had a fight one night in his car. They said some stuff and Julia rode off on her bicycle. A car hit her. Eli is never going to be able to forgive himself. Clare got that and gave him some time to make sense of it all. Is that what you want me to do?" I asked, putting my hand over his.

"Sure." He said. He stared into space for a few minutes. "Time's up." He put his hand under my chin and kissed me. Our lips fit perfectly to each other. I pulled away.

"I don't want to be…intrusive, but can we talk about her?" I asked. He sighed for a moment, knowing exactly whom I was talking about.

"It started out rough and ended rough." He said. "We made out at her party. Then I was kind of a jerk because…it was so new and…a lot of girls seemed to like me. She pulled away from me and it was weird because she was the first. I didn't want to be one of those guys who, twenty years later, is always talking about the one who got away." He was tearing up now.

"So we got together and, for awhile, life was really good. Then I did a stupid thing. Bianca kept sending me…photos; and one day she invited me to the boiler room. She promised that there would be no strings attached; but that doesn't make it right. Alli tried to make me jealous by going to the boiler room with Owen. Nothing happened, but my mom walked in on her and me talking.

So obviously she broke up with me. Then, after break, she gave me a second chance, which was amazing and stupid of her. She came to her senses after two days and dumped me again. I ruined the best relationship I'd ever had." He said.

"Why did you go to the boiler room?" I whispered.

"Because Bianca made me feel…good. She was always flirting with me and was giving me something that Alli was smart enough never to do." He responded.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked.

"I was completely in love with Alli. But now…you're here. I don't want to burn anymore." He said, a tear falling down his face.

"Burn?"

"That's how I describe it when I think of what I did." Drew replied.

"Oh." I said. We were both…in bad shape. I think that that made us closer than other people were.

"I want to be happy again, even if I don't deserve it." He said suddenly.

"Me too." I agreed. We kissed again, and it was just as enjoyable as the first time. I pulled away again.

"Now what?" He asked, with a smile.

"This is how it started with Alli. Let's try something new." I decided. He raised his eyebrows.

"Like what?"

"Twenty questions with popcorn and a movie?" I asked.

"Sounds fine to me." He laughed. I stood up and walked to the kitchen. Drew got up and followed. I put the popcorn in the microwave and faced him.

"You start." I said, nodding to him.

"Okay…favorite color?" He said, shrugging his incredibly muscular shoulders.

"You did not just ask me that." I laughed at the most common question ever asked.

"I think I did." He said, raising his eyebrows.

"Okay…purple." I said. Purple actually had been my favorite color since I was eight when I'd found out that Natalia's and Alicia's favorite colors were blue and red. "Who was your first girlfriend?" He took a few seconds to remember.

"Is it so hard to remember back that far?" I teased.

"Monique King in the fifth grade...I think." He laughed. The popcorn timer rang and we went back to the couch. "Who was your first kiss with?"

"Zack Smith." I responded automatically. "How could I forget? We locked braces."

"Ouch!" He laughed, putting his arm around me.

"Total cliché, huh?"

"Little bit."

"How many girlfriends have you had?" I asked, grinning.

"Are you serious?" He moaned dramatically.

"Yup. How many?" He raised his head toward the ceiling, counting on his fingers.

"Thirteen, including you." He mumbled. I cracked up. "Oh, and how many boyfriends have you had?"

"Four." I said. He rolled his eyes. "Favorite animal?"

"Lion."

"Why lion?" I asked.

"Everyone likes lions. Plus, the girls do all the work." He said, taking a handful of popcorn. I shoved him playfully. "How about you?"

"Polar bears, because they're just awesome like that." Our questions continued as we watched some random horror movie. I wasn't scared, I was never scared of horror movies, and they just weren't my thing. After we each finished our questions and learned some trivia about each other, we talked about our families. I already new that Adam was transgender so he didn't have to avoid any awkwardness in telling me that his brother was actually his sister.

When the movie was over, it was almost ten thirty. Eli said he wouldn't be back until eleven so we still had another half an hour of alone time.

It felt natural, just hanging out. We looked at each other for a long time; the brown of his eyes engulfed me in warmth. I felt my hand on his neck and I felt his on the small of my back. I pulled myself to him and suddenly, we were kissing. The hours sped by. I felt the electricity between every kiss. Any problems that I had were gone now. I didn't here the click in the knob as my brother opened the door.

"Okay…um…wow." Eli said. We jumped apart. Eli had his hand over his eyes.

"Sup, Eli?" Said Drew, smiling.

"Well…I just walked in on…want me to leave?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Nope, I was just leaving."

"I can tell." He said.

"Yeah." Drew said slowly. There was an awkward pause for a minute or two. We were all just staring at each other and seeing nothing.

"Well I should go…curfew." Said Drew. "Bye." He kissed me on the cheek. I smiled back at him. He walked to the door and Eli stepped aside for him.

"How was guys night?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders after Drew had left.

"Fine. How was yours?" He asked, a half smirk spreading across his face.

"Really…fun." I said, shrugging back against the arm of the couch.

"I noticed." He said. The silence drifted back in. Our dad and Cici, his girlfriend who was basically our step-mom minus the ring, weren't supposed to be back for another hour.

"Let's talk." Said Eli, walking towards me.


	11. Position, Drew

I came home grinning. The burning inside me had stopped completely. The rain earlier had stopped, and it was nice; the feeling that you get after it rains, where you can see how much cleaner the world is. I walked straight through the puddles and up to my front door. I turned my key in the lock and opened the door to see Adam standing in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Dramatic." I nodded as I walked up the stairs to my room.

"On to the next one, huh?" He said, following.

"Don't you have something better to do?" I asked, lying down on my bed.

"Dude, are you seriously ready for this, I mean, after Alli?" I knew that Adam wasn't taking any sides in this. He was a complete guy between the ears, but still got guys and girls.

"I need to move one." I said, sighing. "I was stupid to throw it away, but maybe it worked out for the best."

"Well that's the understatement of the century." He said.

"Thanks." I said, the memory I knew so well came back slower than usual. It gave me more time to guard myself against it. "But it's over and I can't be the brooding loner forever."

"Look, man, Lizette is my friend and Eli's sister. Eli and Clare aren't going to like…this." He said slowly. "They just don't want her to get hurt and they think you might. Hurt her, I mean."

"Yeah, well I'm not. I'm not going to make the same mistakes again. I need this after Alli. Lizette is…amazing. She's real and doesn't care about the stuff other girls care about." I said. I couldn't explain Lizette without feeling like I wasn't doing her justice.

"Well that's just beautiful." Said Adam. "But you said the same thing about Alli."

"I know…it was different."

"How?" He got me. I could tell that there was a difference; there was something not the same with this picture. Alli had met me for my face, and Lizette had met me for my tears. With Lizette, it wasn't about my reputation or my position on the football team or even my face; it was about me. With Alli, it had started out with that and had grown into something more. With Lizette, however, it had immediately started. I didn't know where any of it was going, but it couldn't be bad.

"I don't know. But I want to try it. I think it's going to work out." I said quietly.

"That's reassuring."

"Will you shut-up?" I couldn't let him talk me out of what I wanted by showing me the negatives, not this time.

"Look, man, I'm all for Drewzette, or whatever you guys are. I'm just telling you what the people who matter in both you and Lizette's lives are going to think." Adam actually was a model sibling. He was on your side but always pointed out how you could be better, even if it looked like he just wanted to deny you.

"I know." I walked over to the shelf and took down the pictures of Alli.


	12. My sister, Lizette

"I'm just saying, that if you want my opinion…"

"Which I don't." I snapped. Eli hadn't stopped since he had walked in on Drew and me kissing.

"…You should stop and think things through. Okay? I just don't want him to hurt you like he did Alli." He said, putting his hand on my shoulder. We were at the foot of the steps in front of the school.

"I have thought about it. He makes me feel safe and happy and special." I said. It was completely true. When I was around Drew, there was no pressure that a boyfriend usually has. There was the ambiance of a friend but the understanding and closeness of a boyfriend.

"Rivers opens back up in a week. What are you going to do? Drew can't come to Rivers without a wig and a skirt." He said. He had just breathed reality into the situation. Rivers reopening was something I had been dreaming of for weeks, and now I had something at Degrassi to stay for.

"I was thinking about staying…at Degrassi." I mumbled. Eli raised his eyebrows at me.

"Don't stay for Drew." He said, tilting his head to the side.

"It wouldn't just be for him. I've been thinking about this since my first day. I like it here." I said. It would be so much harder to leave this new little world that I've created for myself to go back to place that would be so much sadder without Natalia.

"Look, Liz, Natalia died yesterday. Can you really trust your feelings right now?"

"Yes." I said. I turned away from him and marched to my locker. They had been short on red polo shirts for a week so I had had to wear the purple sophomore polo. Today was the first day I could finally wear the red. I was officially part of eleventh grade at Degrassi. I preferred the red, it reminded me a little of Rivers, whose colors were red and black.

Unfortunately, on Tuesdays I had two morning classes with him. So I'd be stuck with him telling me how unprepared I was. Drew was at my locker, a smile plastered upon his face.

"Hey." He said, kissing me softly. I took my books out of my locker and stared at him. He stared back. We were happy, I think.

"Your brother is giving me a death glare." He whispered, looking up. I turned around and saw Eli at his locker, watching us. I waved to him. He rolled his eyes and walked away.

"Just ignore him." I said. "Eli is just worried about me."

"Why can't I have one girlfriend whose family likes me?" He said sarcastically.

"He will. Just give him time." I said. Mr. Simpson came up to us.

"Ms. Goldsworthy, I am so sorry for your loss." He said. He was a tall man with an Irish twinkle in his eyes. I'm sure that, even though he made all the changes to the school, people still liked him as a principal.

"Thank you, Mr. Simpson." I said, looking down.

"By the way, I need to know your final decision by Saturday." He said, snapping me back to reality. I wished people would just shut-up about it.

"Right, I'll be sure to let you know."

"Decision on what?" Piped up Drew, his eyebrows were furrowed. Mr. Simpson looked at him, then back at me.

"Remember, Saturday." He said. He walked away; people seemed to hide from him. They were all in fear of being caught breaking a rule.

"What decision?" Asked Drew. He put his arm around me and walked me to my math class. He had history next which was nearby, so it was no problem for him to walk me.

"Rivers hall is reopening next Monday." I said, looking away from him.

"What?" He said blankly. I could see that he was feeling a bit used.

"I'm not going back. I'd rather be here with you and Eli and Clare and Adam." I said, looking back up at him. He looked around for teachers, and then kissed me again.

"Good. I want this to be perfect."

"Me too." I whispered. We arrived at my class just on time.

"See you in Drama." He said.

"Bye." I said, turning into my classroom. Eli had left a seat open for me, right in the back.

"Hey." He said, look at his notes.

"Hi." I said slowly.

"You seem happy, considering." He said. I felt a pang in my stomach.

"Will you stop?" I asked, exasperated again.

"Maybe."

"Look, Eli, I like Drew. It would be really nice if my brother could get along with him too." I said. I could see the pleading in my eyes soften him a little bit. The monitor in the corner of the classroom went on and silenced us. Holly J Sinclair and Sav Bhandari's faces appeared.

"Good morning, everyone. Today we have an announcement from Mr. Simpson." Said Sav. The scene flashed to Mr. Simpson's office.

"Good morning, students. I am happy to inform you that, after much persuasion from Chantay Black, we will be having a no dress code dance this Friday at eight pm, sponsored by the newly reinstated power squad. It is formal dress so that means coats for the men. Skirts and dresses must make it to your fingertips, there will be a DJ, and all proceeds will be given to the Ontario Food Pantry. The theme is Winter Warmth, so have fun with that. I hope you all come out." The screen flipped back to Holly J and Sav.

"Thank you Mr. Simpson. That's all the news we have for now. Have a great day." You could here everyone in the school's excited whispering.

"Settle down, please everyone." Said the teacher. "Let's continue where we left off yesterday. He began writing problems on the board.

"So, I assume that you'll be going with Drew to the dance." Whispered Eli.

"Probably." I said curtly

"When will I get to bond with my future brother in law?" He asked, smirking again. I turned my head toward him, wondering what his catch would be.

"Do you have any classes with him?"

"Nope."

"Then I don't know."

"I pictured the dot at five. You can pass that along." He said, still smirking.

"Why can't you?"

"I'm saving my energy for him." I scowled at him and turned back to my notes. The rest of the class was spent focusing on my work. After class, I found a snowflake on my locker. It read:

_ Winter Warmth Dance_

_Friday Night _

_8:00 pm to 11:00 pm_

"Hey." Said a voice behind me. I turned to see Drew, smiling back at me.

"Hi."

"So what to you think?" He asked. "Wanna' go?"

"Where?"

"To the dance."

"With who?" I asked, grinning.

"Your boyfriend." He laughed, still smiling.

"Maybe."

"I'm not sure that's good enough." He said, leaning over me. Our faces were only an inch apart. I was just about to lean up and kiss him when I heard a repulsed voice.

"Okay, too close to my sister." Said Eli, walking past. Adam was with him with a weird look on his face as he stared at Drew. Drew changed his position so that he was next to me, arm curled around my waist.

"Sorry, man. What's up?" Said Drew, plastering a friendly smile on his face.

"No problem." Said Eli, grimacing. There was an awkward silence between the four of us. A pair of hands appeared on Eli's eyes. I looked over his shoulder to see Clare. She smiled at him.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Nothing, just reminding Drew to keep his hands to himself." Said Eli, turning back to us. Drew laughed sheepishly. Clare looked confused; she looked from me to Drew the back at me again. It dawned on her.

"No." She said, half annoyed, half disgusted. "This is not what I meant, Drew."

"Clare, calm down." Said Eli gently.

"Just…be careful." She said pleadingly. "I'll live with it…but…take it slow."

"Got it." I said.

"May I have the pleasure of walking my own sister to our history class?" Asked Eli. Drew removed his arm from my waist.

"See you later." He said. Clare and Adam walked to their Science class and Eli and made our way to history. I turned around to see Drew standing alone in the hallway, staring after me. I smiled at him and he waved back.


	13. Kidding, Drew

"You have got to be kidding me." Laughed Lizette. We sat at a small table by the window at the dot.

"Nope." I leaned back in my chair. I had just told her about how the cord tethering me to a rope, which kept me to the wire, had snapped when I went zip lining through a forest in Mexico.

"You held on to the rope for that long?"

"Going at least sixty miles an hour." I smiled at her. The dance was in three hours and we were hanging out, doing homework, completely casual.

"I think we got a little off topic." She said, putting both her hands on the textbook. My grades had improved over the past week. Lizette kept me focused, and we still had fun. It had only been a few days since we started going out, but everything seemed perfect.

"Come on…its Friday." I groaned, taking her hand. I knew she wouldn't fall for any Drew persuasion tricks; she was smarter than that.

"And you have a math test on Monday." She said. "So…logarithms." We began reviewing; I understood the majority of it so Lizette let me take another break.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

"What do you think I'm thinking about?" I countered.

"Logarithmic identities?"

"Nope." I answered. She smiled her sweet smile, the smile that showed all her teeth but with a certain shyness playing around her lips.

"Am I going to have to guess?"

"No." I whispered. I leaned in to kiss her, just as sweet as the first time.

"Good thing you didn't order anything with onions." Said Peter, the waiter at the dot who graduated last year. He gave us our coffees, shook his head, and walked back the counter where he had a laptop and a textbook set up.

"He's jealous." I said. She rolled her eyes at my seventh grade come back.

"So…I heard Alli Bhandari is going to the dance tonight." Mumbled Lizette, looking out the window.

"Where'd you hear that?" I asked, my voice tensing a little bit.

"Clare, on Wednesday, I meant to tell you but…I was a little scared." She said, talking much faster. I stroked her cheek with my finger.

"Why?"

"I didn't know what your reaction would be." She said shyly.

"Indifferent." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Really?" I could see the meaning behind her words. She wasn't suspicious; she was just worried about me.

"It's going to be a little awkward…but I think we can manage." I tried to sound optimistic.

"Okay then." She said, trying to brush the topic aside. "I have to go. Clare and…Alli might be there." She was still speaking a little slowly.

"Have fun." I said grimacing.

"I'll try." We both stood up. She kissed me tenderly at first, but then a little more enthusiasm. I responded just the same and then she pulled away. The only thing that mattered was the green in her eyes, which were only inches from mine.

"What was that for?"

"I won't be able to do that tonight." She said, her eyes still with certain shyness.

"Why not?" I asked, jokingly.

"Alli…how is that fair to her?"

"Does it matter?" I grinned. She kissed me again.

"Yes." She whispered. I leaned down again but she turned and walked to the door. "I'll see you at the dance." She called back. I shook my head and laughed her teasing. Then it dawned on me. Three girls under one roof: one probably hates my guts, one disapproves of me, and the other is my girlfriend. I was screwed.


	14. Simple Girl Drama, Lizette

I arrived at Clare's house before Alli did. Her hair was wet and she had a bottle hair mouse in her hand.

"Liz!" She cried, throwing her arms around me. "Alli's running a little late but she said she'll be here soon. She's going with Adam, unofficially of course, but for the whole group picture thing…you get what I'm saying." She turned on her heal and marched up the steps to her room. Her mother and father went back and forth to the house, taking turns so that Clare wouldn't have two separate households to live in. Clare's room was simple and sweet. The yellow walls were calm and she had her dress on the bed and makeup on the vanity. "Okay, so the shower is down the hall to the left." I grabbed my bathrobe, towel, and toilet kit, and headed down the hallway.

The shower was nice and warm and my thoughts traveled toward Alli. I had never met her and I didn't really have a clear image of what she _might _look like. I continuously wondered how she would react to me hanging out with her best friend, and me dating her ex-boyfriend. I hoped to God that she didn't think that I was trying to replace her.

I got out of the shower, dried off my legs, torso, and arms and put on my green bathrobe. I put my hair up in the towel and walked back to Clare's room. Clare was still in her room. This time, however, Alli was with her. She was shorter than I had imagined and a bit more innocent looking than I had thought she would be.

"Alli, this is Lizette. Lizette this is Alli. Lizette is Eli's sister." Said Clare. Alli stood up.

"Hi." She said.

"Hey." I replied.

"So, Clare tells me you're dating Drew." She got right to the point. I stopped where I stood.

"Yeah, we're…together."

"Oh my God, this is so awkward. All I can say is…good luck with him." She said, grinning. I felt the tension leave my body; she seemed so calm and nice. There was silence for a few seconds.

"Well…I should go shower. See you in a bit." She said, grabbing her stuff. Clare and I laughed at how awkward it had been for a few seconds. We continued to admire the dresses. Clare's was a black and white dress with black lace sleeves. It hit just at the knee and would look amazing on Clare. I kept my dress in the bag…I wanted it to be a surprise. Alli's dress was laid out. It was long and aqua blue, it was obvious that is was a flowy dress. I would have expected Alli to wear something more revealing, based off of what I'd heard about her.

"She's going for a more conservative look." Said Clare, reading my mind.

"Of course I am." Said Alli, marching into the room. "Last time I was at a Degrassi dance…you know the rest." She said, rolling her eyes.

It took us an hour to get ready. First we gave each other mani-pedis, then makeovers, and then we did each other's hair. We decided we'd do a big reveal sort of thing with the dresses. We wrote down our names and put them in a hat. Clare drew the first name and it was Alli. She shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her dress and accessories, and marched into the walk-in closet. She emerged five minutes later with the dress on, a white fur shawl, a blue clutch purse, and diamonds from head to toe.

"Alli you look great." Said Clare, going over to hug her friend.

"Thanks. Lizette, you pick the next person." She said, casting me a friendly smile. I drew Clare's name out of the hat. She sighed and took her things out into the hall.

"So…you and Drew." She began slowly.

"Yup." I said, nodding.

"Why?" I was hoping she wouldn't ask that question.

"Well when I met him, he was in a bad place. I don't think he could hurt you without hurting himself." She flinched. "I guess I was just there for him. He was there for me, too. When my friend, Natalia, died on Monday, he was amazing. He really seemed to care and we talked and then we just decided to give this a try. So far, everything is perfect."

Alli looked off into space for a moment. "Maybe he has changed." She said. There was a change in her tone, was it regret? I couldn't tell. Clare entered with an out of character model walk. She looked like a shiny new Clare.

"Your turn, Liz." I picked up my things and went to the bathroom. I slipped on my short, flowy, silver dress. I placed the flower barrette in my and delicately placed each see-through silver shoe on my feet. I added my bracelet and necklace and was ready. There was a part of me that wanted Alli to feel a twinge of jealousy, but that's simple girl drama that I would have to avoid.


	15. Presence, Drew

"So, what are you going to do about the whole Alli and Lizette under the same roof thing?" Asked Eli. We were all taking my mom's minivan to pick up the girls and go to the dance.

"I guess I'm just going to have to roll with it." I said. I stared ahead at the open road. We turned left, which brought us that much closer to my possible doom.

"Good luck, man." Said Adam.

"By the way, Adam, you're sitting in the back." I said, grinning.

"Why?" He said, looking annoyed.

"Because we have girlfriends." Said Eli, patting him on the back. There was silence as he looked at us.

"One day, boys, one day." He said, leaning back with his arms crossed.

"What, you'll get a boyfriend?" I joked.

"You'll pay for that one…when you least expect it." We all laughed, there was no way Adam could take me.

"This better be fun." Said Eli, breaking the silence again.

"It will be. I have your sister all to myself." I joked.

"Just keep it PG." Said Eli.

"Thirteen?" I asked. Eli scowled at me. "Don't worry, man. It's all good." I laughed. We were excited, it was the first legit dance we'd had since Vegas Night. I was a little conflicted under the all the anticipation; did I want Alli and Lizette to be friends? I didn't think I'd ever really been able to figure it out.

We arrived at Clare's house five minutes later. I knocked on the door with Eli and Adam behind me. We heard footsteps and giggles behind the door. Alli answered; her hair was gently pinned back out of her face and she had on a long blue dress.

"Hey, Drew." She said. There was a slight grimace in her smile.

"Hi." I said. So many emotions were flowing through me: sadness, remorse, awkwardness, and fear. From behind the door, Lizette emerged in a silver dress. Everything I had ever wanted was in front of me dressed in silver and smiling shyly.

"Whoa." I said, holding out my hand. She took it and I pulled her to me, looking anywhere but at Alli. I kissed the top of her head and Eli cleared his throat.

"Okay, really awkward." Said Alli, grinning as she brushed past us to the car. She looked back and laughed just a little. Clare ran down the stairs in her sparkly shoes and simple black and white dress. Eli walked over to her and kissed her.

"Always the odd wheel." Said Adam, casting his arms up into the air and walking back over to Alli. They leaned against the car and waited for us. You could plainly see them whispering about the whole "group" date thing.

"You ready?" I asked, turning back to Lizette.

"Always." She said, smiling.

"You look…"

"Pretty." Inserted Eli, walking past and reminding us of his presence,

"I was going to say magnificent." I said loudly.

"Sure you were." He called back. We laughed. Lizette sat in the front with me while Eli, Alli, and Clare piled into the back. Adam was left sulking in the way back. I blasted the music and pretty soon, we were all singing along, so far, so good. Alli and I hadn't had any problems yet. When we pulled up to the school, you could hear the music blaring inside. We all showed our school ids and Alli gave Ms. Oh her permission slip.

"Hey, is Dave Turner still a dork?" Asked Alli, staring across the room at him standing up against the wall with Connor.

"Definitely." Said Clare, jumping up and down to the music.

"He's a cute dork." She said, smiling a little.

"Clare said you had a 'no more dating' policy." Lizette put in.

"I do, nothing against flirting though." She said laughing. After a while, we were all tired. I kissed Lizette on the cheek when teachers weren't looking and went over to get her some water; all punch and anything that could be secretly spiked with alcohol were forbidden at dances. Alli followed to help.

"Hey, can we talk?" She asked; she had gotten a little more serious.

"Sure." I said, my guard up. She led me out into the hallway.

"We can be friends, right?" She asked abruptly.

"Yeah…" I said, confused.

"I just wanted to apologize, for being so mean to you before I left." She said, looking away. "It's been eating me up."

"I'm sorry for being awful to you…period." I said, tearing up a little bit. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"You really like her don't you?" She whispered.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Can I please give you the good-bye kiss we never had? On the cheek?" She asked. I was taken aback. Half of me thought it was a bad idea; the other half thought it would be the final step to closure. She leaned up and kissed me softly on the cheek. There was something wrong with it, not the same spark that there had been before. This new information only reminded me that I had that connection with Lizette, a connection that was pulling me back to the dance floor. We pulled apart and Alli smiled. I heard footsteps and the smile on Alli's face vanished.

"Lizette, wait!" She called. I turned to see my girlfriend walking away slowly. I'd done it again.


	16. Time to go, Lizette

I didn't go back to the dance, I didn't go to Drew and ask him what the hell was going on; did I even care? Drew was a die-hard heartbreaker; I had known that and had still tried. What did that make me? It made me the social outcast that fell for the football player…and there was no net where I was falling. I threw my heels in the bushes; it was a long walk home.

I didn't cry as I walked away from the school, I didn't make a sound. I guessed that I was just a rebound. He and Alli were supposed to be together…did that mean that he was using me?

My mind was full of questions as I walked barefoot through the quiet nighttime streets. I didn't care if people got worried, I didn't care if my shoes were left under those bushes forever. I rubbed my arms to warm them as it started to snow. My feet were going numb and turning red from the cold, still I walked. I wondered if Alli was just pretending to be nice, like she was using me to get back to Drew. I suddenly felt tired…from the walking…from the emotional turmoil…from the world.

My house was just around the corner as I heard a car approaching behind me. I looked behind me ever so slightly to see Clare's mom's car approaching. It stopped, but I kept walking. I felt two arms grab me and hold me. I looked up emotionlessly to see my brother.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said. Clare and Adam were there too, watching me. They had all warned me, and I hadn't listened. I had so blatantly believed that Drew had cared, and maybe he had…just not enough. I didn't notice as they took me back to the car, wrapped in Eli's jacket. I didn't see as I looked out the window as they drove me to my house.

When we arrived at my house, my dad and Cici were out to dinner…again. Eli took me into the house after thanking Mrs. Edwards. He sat me down on the couch and made me hot chocolate…I had always hated coffee.

"Are you going to be in a vegetative state forever?" He asked.

"No." I said trying to snap out of it. I drank my hot chocolate, trying to not show how emotional I was.

"Think about it…he's just one heartbreak closer to getting married." Said Eli, trying to sound wise.

"Great." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Do you want to cry?" I nodded once, and let the soundless tears roll down my face. Eli pulled me to him again. He said nothing; he didn't have to. We stayed like that for an unknown amount of time. Could have been hours, could have been days. I pulled myself together just long enough to stand up and walk over to the neglected transfer papers on the kitchen table. I signed them, then brought them back to the couch and handed them to Eli.

"You're leaving?" He asked, taking them.

"Yeah, it's time to go." I said, trying to be brave. It was official…I was leaving Degrassi.


	17. Explained, Drew

My mom was letting me drive Adam and myself to school that morning. That was something I would normally have been excited about…except I hadn't been excited in three days. Adam wasn't mad at me; I had told him that it was just a good-bye type of thing. He had told Eli to tell Lizette but Lizette still wasn't answering my calls.

"You ready?" Adam asked. He looked genuinely concerned. I felt my pulse quicken and the tears welling in my eyes…again. This was all so familiar to me now.

"Yeah." I said trying to shrug everything off, as if it were possible.

"Whatever, man." He said, shaking his head. I saw Eli pull up in his hearse. This was it, I could explain myself, and I could finally see the one person I had been longing to see. Eli got out of his hearse, looked at me once, shook his head, and walked away. He was alone. I stared at the passenger side door, and nothing happened. The beautiful girl I so missed didn't emerge. Eli was already proceeding to the front door. I ran.

"Eli! Eli!" I called. He didn't turn. I caught up to him, using my football legs to bring me closer to the one thing that could answer my questions.

"What?" He asked, turning to give me a death glare. I backed up. He was intimidating.

"Is…is Lizette out sick?" I asked, confused.

"No." He said, looking down.

"Well then where…?"

"She went back to Rivers." He said simply. He walked away. Everything around me crashed. It all turned black and shattered into a million pieces; or maybe that was just my heart because everyone around me continued on in their lives. I just stood there. I felt my phone vibrate. I let it go on and on and on. On the last vibrate, I picked it up and answered it mechanically. I was reduced to nothing more than an emotionless, empty, shell.

"Hello?"

"Drew?" It was Alli. I wasn't exactly in the mood to hear _her_ talking.

"Yes."

"Good. I was afraid the cell phone jammers would get you first." She said sounding relieved.

"What do you want?" I could feel the hostility in my voice.

"Clare told me that Lizette transferred." She said, sounding a little scared.

"Yeah. What's it to you?" I asked.

"Are you going to let her get away?" She asked expectantly. I was silent.

"I let you go." I said simply. She was silent for a moment.

"I didn't want to be followed."

"What makes you think she does?" I asked.

"Her face when she saw me kiss you." She said matter of factly.

"Your face was pretty bad when you found out I…you know." I couldn't say it.

"Yes, Drew, I remember. You were a moron, I took you back, and we've established that. I broke up with you the second time because we weren't going to work out. It's obvious that fate or whatever didn't want us to be together. You and Lizette are perfect. I watched you at the dance, I watched you before the dance, and I saw your face after she saw us." She said. She was a smart girl.

"Yeah, and what do you expect me to do about all that?" I asked, looking at my sneakers. I didn't see where she was going with this.

"Go after her! I though it was pretty obvious." She shouted through the phone. Some people looked around because she was so loud.

"School's about to start…"

"Does it matter?" She shouted again. Everything was starting to make sense.

"Alli, you are a life saver." I said.

"I already knew that. Now go!" I hung up. Whatever I may have done to her, she was always going to be Alli, the whole package. It just so happened that that package wasn't for me. I sprinted back to the car and plugged the key into the ignition. I heard the school bell. This may be my only chance and I was taking it. I sped through town to Rivers. I didn't know the exact location but I had a pretty good idea. I followed signs and cars with Rivers' bumper stickers. The campus was huge and gated. It freaked me out a little bit. I'd have to be extra convincing to get Lizette to leave this resort type school. There was a huge parking lot already filled with convertibles and beetles and a bunch of other chick cars.

I slammed the car door as I got out. The school was intimidating and had huge glass windows. I marched myself right through the front door like I owned the place. No metal detectors here. There was a woman at the front desk with horn-rimmed glasses and mousy brown hair.

"May I help you, dear?" She asked, looking a little alarmed.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Lizette Goldsworthy. Is she here?" I asked.

"Give me one moment." I saw her eyeing the Degrassi "D" on my chest. It must mean something to these girls that I went there.

"Your school took in many of our girls while we were closed." She said. That explained it.

"I heard nice things." She said.

"Yeah." I said, looking down the carpeted hallways.

"Ah, here we go." My attention snapped back to the woman. "She's in her Latin class at the moment. Why did you say you needed to see her?"

"I just really need to talk to her. Can you call her up or something?" I asked. I felt the urgency in my voice and the butterflies in my stomach.

"Her classroom is room 201, on the other side of the building." She said pointing to the hall to my left. "Do you want me to ring her teacher." She asked, picking up the phone.

"Yeah, I'll meet her halfway." I said. I sprinted down the hall to my girl.


	18. Lucky, Lizette

Everyone in my school was emotionless. Everyone's minds were on the three girls we had lost to H1N1 over the course of the past four weeks. Their names had been Natalia De Luca, Zoey Chang, and Carla Daniel. Zoey and Carla were both ninth graders, they hadn't really lived yet…none of us had. My mind strayed to Degrassi, where my newest ex boyfriend was probably hitting on his newest lab partner.

My notes were just as neat as ever, but I didn't absorb what they were telling me. I began doodling pictures of broken hearts on my notebook as opposed to my usual whole ones. I felt someone tap me on the back; I looked around to see Alicia with a note in her hand. I double-checked to make sure the teacher wasn't looking and I opened it.

_U ok?_

_You haven't raised your hand once….it's so not like you._

I sighed and responded quickly. I wasn't really okay, I wanted everything to go back to the way it was before Drew had kissed Alli.

_I don't know_

I could always count on Alicia to get it. She was always looking at things from other people's perspectives; this was something that made her a great leader.

_Hey, we're back where we belong._

_Natalia would want us to be happy where we are._

I didn't know if I really belonged at Rivers so much anymore. There were pros and cons to the life at an all girls private school. There was no drama, but everyone got along better. There were no boys, but that eliminated the competition. There were uniforms, but they were at least better than the Degrassi ones. I was back in my red and black plaid skirt and black vest with my white collared shirt. Everything was how it was supposed to be.

The phone on Mrs. Feron's desk rang. She stopped in the middle of her Latin lecture and picked it up.

"Hi, Dot, any announcements?" There was some chatter on the other end. Everyone was watching curiously.

"Okay…that's odd. I'll tell her." She hung up and searched the class for my face. "Ms. Goldsworthy, a boy from Degrassi High school is here for you." The entire class turned to stare at me.

"My brother?" I asked. Some of the girls looked kind of hopeful, they had always thought him hot, probably because we weren't exposed to anyone of the male gender on a regular basis. I never quite understood it, maybe because he was my brother.

"No, she said she didn't recognize him." Now everyone looked at each other with raised eyebrows. To them, this only meant one thing: boyfriend. My teacher dismissed me and I walked, confused, down the long hallway. I saw him running towards me, he looked anxious and…worried? I was still upset with Drew; I rolled my eyes and turned back in the direction of my classroom.

"Leave." I called behind me.

"Liz, wait." He said. He grabbed my arm and I slapped his hand away.

"What, Drew? I'm in school." I snapped, crossing my arms.

"Liz…what happened with Alli…it was just goodbye. I swear on my life it meant nothing except goodbye." He was talking so fast. For a split second, I lost my guard.

"You should've left it at a handshake." I said. He smiled for a second, then looked down.

"Liz, I was in love with Alli, okay? You saw me. But now…I don't want to say anything in case I might jinx it, but we have something here and if you tell me right now that you don't feel anything…I'll be gone." He said. I could see tears beginning to well in his perfect eyes.

"I did…I mean I do…feel something. But, how can I really know that you won't run back to Alli if we ever get in a fight?" I asked, tears forming in my eyes now.

"Alli is my friend. She told me, only fifteen minutes ago, that she saw that we were perfect and told me not to let us go without a fight." I stared at him for a long time. I walked toward him hesitantly. I could see that he meant everything he said. I saw that I had believed too easily that he would leave and I needed to trust…now I saw that I could.

I continued to walk towards him until we were mere inches from each other. Out of nowhere, he took me in his arms and held me to him. I held him back. We didn't say anything; we just stood there in each other's arms.

"I missed you." He whispered.

"It was only three days." I said, looking back up at him.

"I know." He said.

"Ahem." I heard my teacher clear her throat. We jumped apart and saw Mrs. Feron crossing her arms in the hallway. "Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Yeah…um…I'm sorry." I said. I could feel the pink blush crawling up my neck and settling in my cheeks. "Can I have a few more minutes?" She took a few seconds to think about it.

"Three." She said, turning on her heel. We waited for her to leave before we began talking again.

"So…are you coming back?" He asked, turning his head to the slide.

"I don't know if I can…" I said, looking down.

"Well, no matter what, I'm here." He said, kissing my cheek softly. He walked away and left me in the hallway. I smiled a little and walked back to my class.

"Now that Ms. Goldsworthy is done with her business we can get back to reviewing the fifth declension." Said Mrs. Feron, turning back to white board.

"Boyfriend?" Whispered Alicia. I giggled, then nodded.

"Lucky."


	19. They Were True, Drew

Lizette and I were back together. It had been only a two days since I had gone to Rivers and Lizette had given me no inclination that there was any chance that she could come back to Degrassi. I missed seeing her in my classes and I could feel my new interest in school declining every minute that I wasn't around her. My mom had approved of Lizette, which was a first for her. Everything should have been perfect, but without Lizette nothing made sense. I had gotten a week's detention for leaving school without a note and my mom just sighed at my insolence, or at least that's the word she used.

"So Drewzette is going for long distance?" Asked Adam, throwing his backpack into the foot space.

"I guess so, we're going to try and make it work."

"By aggrandizing our family phone bill?" He asked, turning on the music.

"Shut-up." I said.

"Sorry I forgot to use one syllable words with you now that Lizette's gone." We spent the rest of our drive to school bickering about trivial things like school, TV, and music. He some how got it into his head that _Firework_ was a better song than _The Time_.

We were early, so we sat on the steps while Adam tried to walk me through sectionalism for my quiz later. After he gave up, we went to our lockers.

"So, who's going to be your new lab partner?" He asked, making casual conversation.

"Who cares?" I asked back, leaning up against my locker.

"Lizette might." He said, pointing down the hallway. With Eli's arms wrapped casually around her and Clare, Lizette appeared. Eli whispered something in her ear and she ran to me. I caught her up in my arms in a way similar to those in movies.

"Hey, you." She said, still holding on to me.

"Hi." I said, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek.

"That's all I get?" She asked, pouting a little. I smirked and kissed her for real this time.

"Ugh, I'm having a bad day." Adam was always exasperated when it came to PDA. He walked back over to Eli and Clare, who simply carried on down the hallway.

"What are you doing at lunch?" She asked.

"Depends, what are you doing?" I asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears.

"I was hoping for some quality time with my boyfriend." She said, grinning.

"You seem happy today." I commented.

"Of course I am. I'm back at school…I'm back with my boyfriend, what's there to be upset about?" I loved her; I wanted to tell her so badly. But, it was so early so I said nothing. As long as I knew that those words existed in me and that they were true, I was happy.

"So, where do you want to meet up for lunch?" I asked. She backed away slowly, holding my hand in both of hers. She kissed me once, and then whispered in my ear.

"You'll figure it out…eventually." She pulled away and started running down the deserted hallway. I shook my head and chased after her.


End file.
